REVIEW: Presenter Mark Richardson says he always thinks of the first two weeks on The Block as a sort of “honeymoon period” – there’s nothing too strenuous about completing a guest bedroom and a kids’ room.
Which may explain why this season on The Nice Block has been pretty much devoid of angst and cheating – so far.
But that doesn’t mean the judging is going to plan for everyone. Favourites Stacy and Adam take a crash course in disappointment when tough judge Jason Bonham scores them a measly 5 out of 10 for a “confused” kid’s room.
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This is Chloe and Ben’s winning kid’s room. It’s a little dull – a more lively artwork on the wall above the bed would have helped.
And it’s “the ones to watch” from last week that take out the prize this week – $7000 from TSB they can put to towards next week’s family bathroom. Yep, it’s Chloe and Ben who delight the judges with their blue kid’s room. They took to heart Bonham’s plea for everyone to be “a touch more daring” with their interiors.
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Chloe and Ben
These two did a good job this week. But seriously, we could have done without the boring face masks and minor tiffs that weren’t tiffs this week. It seems this year’s hand-picked Block contestants are so easy-going, the producers are trying to create scenes out of nothing. Sure that has always happened on the Block, but this year it’s not working to hold our interest – despite the reduced hours the show is screening.
But back to the blue room, which looks a little dull. It’s not exactly uplifting, but the judges are seriously impressed and say it is “just stunning”.
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Chloe hams it up for the camera this week.
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There’s plenty of storage in Chloe and Ben’s boy’s room. And the shelf above the bed is useful.
They love the built-in furniture – there are cubbies and hidden storage. “They’ve thought about it in a sophisticated way,” says Ferguson. “The one thing about teenage boys, well boys in general – they can’t organise themselves. So what I love about this room is the storage cubes are there for them to do the best that they can.”
We like the LED lighting in the shelving and along the toe-kick, the touch of olive green with the blue, and the TV that doubles as artwork.
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Bonham would have given Chloe and Ben a 10 out of 10 if they had painted the walls a colour other than white.
This is a room that will still suit a young adult. The only dud note apart from being a little dull? They have different door hardware to the rest of the house. That’s always a no-no with the judges. And one of the hardest things to get right.
Maree and James
With Bonham’s call for daring in mind, Maree says, “There won’t be any white walls this week. I’m going to redeem myself.”
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Maree and James did a very effective two-tone paint job on the walls.
And she and James do redeem themselves, with a lovely room in terracotta and blush pink. The judges love the two-tone effect (how easy it is to get that line straight with that laser light tool).
Bonham describes it as “quite nurturing”. But co-host Shelley Ferguson picks up on something we noted last week – there are too many little bits and pieces in the room that make it hard to focus on any one thing. Fewer and bigger is the answer. But Bonham doesn’t mind, and he thinks it’s beautifully finished.
The night lighting on the wall is fun. Bonham raves but only gives them a 7 out of 10. Really?
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But Maree and James filled the room with too many bits and piece. It needs a focal point.
Stacy and Adam
This couple had the right to choose any apartment on the block, having won the first reveal, but they have chosen to stay in house number 4. And that’s probably because it will have the lowest reserve, and they can ramp that up with good design.
Confidence is in abundance with Stacy, but not so much Adam, who feels the flamingo wallpaper creates a feature wall. And, as everyone knows, the tough judge hates feature walls.
Stacy wins as usual, and she has no doubt they are doing the best rooms: “If this isn’t the cutest room ever, I don’t know what is,” she boasts. But Bonham gives them a very low 5 this week, their lowest score ever. Ferguson thinks it’s worth a 7.5.
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Stacy and Adam scored the lowest mark for their girl’s bedroom, with the judges saying the proportions were wrong – the bed seemed to small compared to the bench seat.
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Judge Jason Bonham also felt the artwork was too adult for a child’s room.
At first glance the room is beautiful, with a muted pink, rather like Maree and James’ room – they even have the same wall lights. But Bonham is confused, because the artwork is very “grown-up”. He also feels the dark timber flooring needs softening – perhaps a large fluffy rug would have done the trick.
“The bench seating’s great, but there’s no storage, and I think that’s a big miss,” Bonham says. He also pans the soft baby blue, which he thinks is out of place.
They both love the tongue-and-groove blush pink wall, but they agree the proportions of the furniture seem “a little off” – small, low bed, large, high bench seat. It’s not quite working. “Get me out of this room,” Bonham shouts. But it’s nothing that can’t be improved with a more substantial bed.
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There’s still a lot to like about Stacy and Adam’s bedroom, and it probably won’t hurt their chances of a sale.
Quinn and Ben
Again, we see tones of blush and pale terracotta used to great effect. Ben paints a mountain mural on the wall and it’s quite fun, but it’s a feature wall… and Bonham loves it. Phew. Oh, but then, a few minutes later he says “enough of the feature walls”.
Both judges feel they could have taken a pale version of one of those colours and wrapped it right around the room.
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Quinn and Ben’s kid’s room featured an eye-catching feature wall, which works visually to tie together other elements in the room.
The couple have changed their carpet choice and gone for a much lighter tone, which works perfectly in the room. And their bench seat is covered in a fantastic ‘30s-style floral fabric with a matching bolster cushion.
There is a large Mid-century-style light fitting with multiple lights (15) that we think looks completely out of place in a small bedroom – it’s the sort of thing you would put in a living room. But the judges love it. We’ll beg to disagree on that one. (Ferguson is “obsessed” with statement lighting.)
Stuff
Again, the judges thought that a lighter shade of one of the feature colours could have been used right around the room.
Final scores
Chloe and Ben nail it with an 18 out of 20; Quinn and Ben come second (huge jump) with 15.5; Maree and James score 15; and Stacy and Adam languish way down on 12.5.
It’s interesting to note that everyone has finished on time, and no-one has been criticised for sloppy work – that has to be a first, but it could all change next week because it’s family bathroom week.
In summary
- This is not a one-horse race
- Judge Bonham is back to being somewhat inconsistent
- The rearranged theme tune is better, but is it why the whole show seems less lively?
- Or is that because these contestants are all too good at the job?
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